Home Forums Hunting & Shooting AR and Tactical Rifles Best FN FAL for the money?

I bought a Century Angry Beaver Special when they were $600. It wouldn't hit the box I was shooting at only 50 yards away. I used a pair of brake lines to form parallels so I could see the barrel was incorrectly timed. I timed the barrel by turning it TDC with the Craftsman open end wrench I bought to do it with, and it shoots very well.
I haven't had to mod the rear sight on my DSA para with the dust cover scope mount. I have a Burris Fullfield II 3x9 on it. I also have one of the Williams slide on scope mounts. Works flawlessly, no mods to sights.

There is nothing wrong per se with the AR10 expect proprietary mags, and parts. FAL parts are everywhere. And cheap.

The triggers can be modified. There are trigger-pull reduction kits available, and there are two outfits that install a set-type trigger.

Who sells them? The ones that I have are Brit L1A1 and DSA, and the only kits to modify them that I have seen are from DSA. Since the DSA trigger is not so good out of the box in a rifle that they sold, I'm not convinced that a trigger kit that they sell is going to be any better, unless they sell a "match" trigger that I haven't seen on their website.

I entered this in Google: "fal trigger pull reduction kit" and came up with hits. Most notably Falcon Arms which made my kits.

I then entered this (again in Google): "fal set trigger" and came up with a hit on Williams triggers.

Well, I guess I could have Googled the answer, but I thought that you might have some insight as to who specifically made kits/assemblies and how good/bad/indifferent that they might be. Thanks anyway.

Williams Trigger Specialties, they've probably been in business most of your adult life, and they do DSA's "Speed" trigger. In other words, the coffee's been brewing a while Dude, give it a whiff when you come around. Five pounds all day long.

Mike, I have never heard any bad things about the Williams modifications. Several people over on falfiles.com have had the mods and love them. I believe DSA will do the same mod.

I personally have the Falcon springs in both of my FAL's and love them. They work. And are stainless steel springs to boot.

Another thing you can do to make the FAL trigger system less crunchy is to use 600 grit and 1200 grit carbide lapidary compound to polish the surfaces that rub on each other. I did this on all my FAL's (3) and it helps too. Unless you have the Williams set done to your FAL, or his trigger reduction work, the FAL will always have a heavy trigger. But it can be made better.

Thanks for the specifics. I rechecked DSA's website today and they have the standard trigger parts for sale, but in their gunsmithing services they have listed the trigger mods they offer, although they do specify it's for SA58 builds only. I will call them and find out, and check into the Williams and Falcon options. Thanks again.

Well sir, mostly it�s the amount of time in service with either a major military, or several smaller militaries. What this does is expose all the flaws of the weapon. Typically the flaws aren�t the design, but manufacturing and or materials. If you read a good history of the M16 you�ll know what I mean. But look at most military rifles and you�ll see that the first decade or so many changes were made in how the arm was manufactured. Small changes that aren't usually noticable looking at the outside. Some are actually quite invisible, like a change in the grade or type of steel used, or hardening standards. These changes come about as a result of military experience; hard use in the field, often by poorly trained troops. I�m not bashing the AR-10 and I see NO reason why it can�t become a very good viable military rifle. There are some that are in military service and I�ve heard some mixed results. Fortunately a lot of the lessons are applicable from the M16 to the AR-10 design, so that cuts some of the learning curve down.

But the FAL has had over 50 years in military service; the design holds little to no secrets or surprises. (still front line for several militaries)

Military service is the ultimate test of a military arm. When choosing a serious defensive weapon, one would do well to consider all the hard lessons that a given military has learned, and do their best to emulate exactly what the �GI� weapon consists of. The alternative is for YOU to find out the hard way that this part needed a relief curve machined at the seam, a stiffer extractor spring, an integral support ridge, or a different grade of steel. It�s all about the little things, but those little things really matter.

My personal M1 Carbine has served in three wars (WWII and the 1948 & 1967 Arab/Israeli wars), quite successfully. How many wars has the latest wonder rifle served in successfully?

It's my observation that the M14/M1A have the best Sights of the three main Batle Rifles. The FAL, the G3, and our M14... The Sights on the M1 Garand and the M14 we're excellent compared to the over two. That gave an advantage in accuracy.

You bet, the sights on the M1/M14 are fantastic. The aperature can be a little fragile in comparison to other rifles, but that's about the only criticism; they're first rate.

Have never fired one and believe these were good firearms.
The adjustable gas piston is a real plus, soft recoil, ergonomic and just plain sexy.
This one particularly:
http://www.dsarms.com/SA58-FAL-Predator-Rifle-308-Win-Cal----SA58PRD308/productinfo/SA58PRD308/

However during my web researching I came across this:

"The front of the HG is attached to the barrel via a screw which passes through the gas block. Any pressure on the HG translates into a deflection at the muzzle, which of course translates into a shift in projectile impact."

Has any FN FAL fan found this to be true?
Maybe there is a fix for this accuracy snafu.

I appreciate any information.

Yes, it is true. You can buy a float tube to fix this.

it ain't a target rifle.
it's a main battle rifle designed to run, and kill humans.

my para has been running for years, and i ain't cleaned it yet, and have had no issues whatsoever with it yet.
it's accurate enough to hit clay pidgeons at just a few yards, to 18" gongs at 400, and large things at even greater distances.

if i were to choose one rifle to bug out with, this would be the one.
plain and simple, a rugged, easy to shoot, killin machine.

parts and mags, are everywhere, even around the world, should you ever be in that situation.

I wonder why FN doesn't start making them again now that they have a plant in SC and don't have to worry about import restrictions?

If there was any money to be made I'm sure they would

thinking about this thread again. Mostly because I saw a FAL with DSA parts. It had their scope mount and was a fairly clean setup, and priced about as much as a typical AR10. I might have bought it except for the 16.5" barrel the gun sported.

If one was wanting to rebarrel an FAL, for the best accuracy, what is the best barrel option? surplus Steyr? DSA?

Like I said earlier in the thread, unless you have arms like a gorilla, get a para. The LOP on the fixed stock guns is stupid long, and you CANNOT shorten the stock.

Well I did have a high school gym teacher who thought I looked like a Gorilla, so that must be why the stock worked okay for me.

16" .308's don't work for me though, so the question is what 20-21" barrel is best.

Well, a 20in is standard, esp for a full rifle. The original Paras were 18in but DSA sells a lot of 16in guns. A 16in gun is going to need a no-schit flash hider.